1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hair clip, particularly to a hair clip capable of holding items of decoration or the like.
2. Description of the Problems and Prior Art
A great variety of hair clips are known. One such hair clip was manufactured in Japan in 1966 by Leonka Designs Corp. in Osaka. A perspective view of this hair clip is shown in FIG. 1. The hair clip, which is designated generally by reference numeral 20, is rather simple in its construction. It consists of a plate-like base 22 having a hinge 24 on one end. The hinge serves for pivotal attachment of a U-shaped lock element 26 with springing legs 26a and 26b. Another end of base 22 has inwardly bent lugs 28a and 28b which hold corresponding legs 26a and 26b in a locked position. Base 22 has shallow grooves 27a and 27b which receive corresponding legs 26a and 26b in their locked position. In use, the portion of hair, which has to be fixed with hair clip 20, is placed onto the surface of base 22 and is fixed by squeezing legs 26a and 26b, turning them inward on hinge 24, inserting them into a space between lugs 28a and 28b, and then releasing the legs into the lugs. Under the effect of a springing force, legs 26a and 26b move apart and are locked beneath the lugs.
Although the above-described hair clip is simple in construction, it has a number of disadvantages which are the following:
Grooves 27a and 27b are shallow and cannot protect the hair clip against sliding on hair which is clamped between base 22 and legs 26a and 26b. Clamping is very awkward and inconvenient because lugs 28a and 28b are located within the outlines of the clip, and the gap between lugs 28a and 28b cannot be easily located by touch. Furthermore, the clip of this design cannot be used for attachment of alternative items of decoration to hair.